Dancer For Many Classic Hip-Hop Videos, Voodoo Ray, Has Passed Away At Age 50

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Throughout the decades, Voodoo Ray (born Raymond Ultarte) brought the dance moves he displayed in New York City clubs in the 1980s to some of Hip-Hop culture’s more memorable late 1990s videos. Formerly known as Boogie Ray, Ultarte’s dancing eventually went on to appear in visuals such as Run-D.M.C. & Jason Nevin’s “It’s Like That,” Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See,” and Wyclef Jean’s “We Trying To Stay Alive.” Voodoo Ray’s moves would also appear in chart-topping vids by Mariah Carey and Backstreet Boys, in addition to vids by Black Moon, MC Lyte, as well as Rah Digga. While his cause of death is not known at this time, DJ Mister Cee reports that Ray was 50 years old.

A playlist of some of Ray’s noteworthy dancing work in music videos:

Aside from his dancing, Ray was a New York City party promoter, responsible for booking DJs. He and Tony Touch created Funkbox Parties and Toca Tuesdays, the precursor to Tony’s current Sirius radio show. After Touch shared the news with his peers, DJ Premier, Just Blaze, and DJ Clark Kent are among those who publicly mourned Ray.